Tentering-clip



F. HINNEKENS.

,TENTERING CLIP.

APPLICATION men APR. 17, I919.

Patented May 11, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l- I l I Ne N FLORENT HINNEKEN S, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY.

TENTERING-CLIP.

Specification of Letterslatent.

Patented May 11, 1920.

Application filed April 17, 1919. Serial No. 290,805.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FLonnN'r HINNEKENS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Paterson, in the county of Passaic and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tentering- Clips, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to tentering clips for tentering machines, and it has for its object to improve the construction of these devices particularly with a view (1) to make them operate successfully on and without injury to the most delicate fabrics, (2) to insure perfect coaction of the grip lever and the feeler-lever, and in the open position obtain certain and ample clearance for the entry of the edge of the fabric, (3) to obtain adjustments of the feelers-lever so as to modify the action thereof to suit fabrics of different grades of resistance to its pressure, and (at) to cause the grip levers, per se, to operate to best advantage. To these ends the improved clip includes, with a bifurcated body having a fabric-gripping table at the inner side of one arm, a griplever fulerumed in the other arm and movable against the table to eoact therewith to grip the fabric, the table having an aperture past which the grip-lever moves to gripping position, a feeler-lever fulcrumed between its ends in the body on an axis parallel with that of the grip-lever and having its forward or feelerend enter-able into said aper ture and its rear end portion a weight and normally adapted to hold the feeler end elevated, the grip-lever having means to bear on the feeler arm of the feeler-lever to press it downward to detecting position and the feeler-lever preferably having an overhang or hook to overlie said means when depressed and thereby insure the rise of the feeler-lever when the grip-lever opens. The feeler-lever is further, in the preferred form, arranged so that its position may be adjusted toward or from the grip-lever. Also, the grip-lever has its upstanding actuating arm arranged at such an angle that in the closed position its weight tends to hold the grip-lever against the table and in the open position is neutral.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 shows in plan a fragment of a chain of the improved clips;

Fig is a front elevation of one of the c p and Figs. 3, 4: and .5 show the clip in sid elevation, in open, closing and closed posir tion, respectively.

The body a of the clip is bifurcated in the usual way and forms rigid lower and upper horizontal arms I), 0, being provided with lateral projections cl which with their pivot pins d" form couplings between such clip and neighboring clips in a series of them forming a chain; it may be remarked that my invention relates to that class of eli which as a link or unit of one of two enol less chains at opposite edges of the fabric moves at one point of its travel towardthe fabric in order to receive its edge and there upon grip the same and at another point moves relatively outward or away from fabric so as to stretch the same transversely.

On the arm I) of the clip is arranged a plate 6 forming a fixed horizontal table, the same being provided with a narrow slot f extending longitudinally of the arm b. Adapted to coact with the plate 6 in ripping the fabric relatively outward 0 the slot 7 is a grip-lever g which is fulcrumed on a horizontal pin h in the end of the arm 0; the acting edge ofthis grip-lever (which and the table 6 are preferably as wide as possible without permitting interference between adjoining grip levers) is beveled to a knife edge for its full length, excepting at the points as i in Fig. 2,'where notches are shown formed therein, so that it will obtain a good grip on the fabric in coaction with the table 6 To insure perfect parallelism between the table and saidedge of the grip-lever, it is preferred to form the arm 0 as a fork when seen in plan a p e t m mbe e f apa as practicable, the bearing portions of the grip-lever being eacharranged outside of the bearing portions formed by said members of the forked arm cfthe importance of constructing theclip so that the rip-lever will be and remain in true parallei l relation to the table will be apparent when it is remarked that the clip is primarily intended for use in stretchingextremely thin fabrics. h p n l r h s a long ifi eete arm projecting rearwa-rdly therefrom, centrally thereof, the branches of this arm bein q nee ed a t ei n y a P 70 parallel with the pivoting pin b.

An inverted U haped bracket Z is secured to and depend from the arm 0 0p osite the arm j of the griplever; this bracket has two or more holes m to receive a cotter pin a, the holes m being in a horizontal series and each parallel with the pin h. On the pin a is fulcrumed a feeler-lever p confined by the bracket Z to move in 'a vertical plane directly opposite the space between the members of the forked arm j of the griplever and having a forward arm 19 which underlies the pin is and may enter the said space in the arm j and has its free end adapted to enter the slot f in plate 6. The other arm 39 of the lever is preferably a weight which tends normally to keep the lever in the position shown in Fig. 3, that is, with-its arm 2 elevated. Itwill be apparent'thatthe grip lever and feeler-lever being in the position shown in Fig. 8, if the grip-lever is moved to gripping position it will engage by its pin is the arm 19 of the feeler-lever and depress the same, and that when the grip-lever is moved in the reverse direction the feeler-lever will return to its normal position; in order to make the return movement of the feeler-lever certain, notwithstanding possible interference therewith of the fabric, the feeler-lever is provided with an overhanging hook g which when the grip lever and feeler-lever are fully depressed overreaches the pin 70. The limit of return movement of the feeler-lever may be afforded by contact thereof with the bracket Z, as shown in Fig. 3.

The grip-lever has an upstanding arm g adapted to be engaged by well-known means acting to swing back the grip-lever out of gripping relation to the fabric and hold it retracted until the edge of the fabric having been received by the clip, the grip-lever is to return and grip the fabric, the said arm being substantially the same as in other clips of well-known type excepting that in the present case it is canted to such an angle with reference to the grip-lever that when the latter is fully openthe arm g" stands almost perpendicular and its weight is substantially neutralized so far as any tendency to move the grip-lever is concerned, but when the grip-lever is in gripping position the weight of g becomes a material factor in holding the grip-lever in said position. 7 In view of the foregoing it will be apparent that the improved clip in the open posi- 'tion (Fig. 3) affords ample clearance in entering the fabric edge; that although the fabrics to be stretched are of the most delicate character, when the grip-lever has been allowed (by the appropriate instrumentality operating on its arm g) to descend toward the gripping position and so depress the arm p of the feeler-lever against the fabric, the pressure of theparts on the fabric while underlying theend of the feeler-lever (Fig. 4:) is. exceedingly light, because the pin k well removed from the grip-lever and engages the feeler-lever more or lessnear the latters fulcrum (n) and that, though the pressure on the fabric is thus exceedingly light, as soon as the fabric recedes from beneath the feeler-lever (Fig. 5), due also to be assured by the pink on the grip-lever bearing upwardly against hook I In order to adjust the action of the parts to suit fabrics varying in ability to resist the tendency of the feeler-lever to press the material into the slot f-of the plate pin n may be shifted from one to the other of the holes m.

Having thus fully described invention, 2

what I claim as new and desire to Letters Patent is V 1. In combination, with a bifurcated body secure by having a fabric gripping table at the inner side of one arm thereof, a grip-leverful-i crumed in the other arm of said body on a transverse axis parallel with the table and with the latter, and afeeler-lever fulcrumed relatively back of the grip-lever on an axis parallel with the axis of the grip-lever and.

having a forwardly projecting arm, said feeler-lever being normally held with its said arm elevated and the grip-lever having means overlying said arm of the'feelerlever and adapted to depress the. same against the fabric overlying the table.

2. In combination, with a bifurcated body having a fabric gripping table at the inner side of one arm thereof, a grip-lever fulcrumed in the other arm of said body on a transverse axis parallel with the table and movable into and out of gripping relation with the latter, and a feeler-lever fulcrumed relatively back of the grip-lever on an axis parallel with the axis of the grip-lever and having a forwardly projecting arm, said feeler-lever being normally. held with its said arm elevated, and the grip-lever having means overlying said arm of the feelerlever and adapted to depress the same movable into and out of gripping relation against the fabric overlying the table, and i said feeler-lever also having a forwardly projecting hook overreaching said means when the feeler-lever is vheld depressed thereby. v W 7 7 3. In combination, with a bifurcated body having a fabric gripping table at the inner side of one arm thereof, a grip-leverful-f crumed in the other arm of said body on a transverse axis parallel with the table and issasoe 3 movable into and out of gripping relation said arm elevated and its axis being shiftwith the latter, and a feeler-lever fulcrumed able toward and from the grip-lever and the between its ends relatively back of the gripgrip-lever having means overlying said arm lever on an axis parallel with the axis of of the feeler-lever and adapted to depress the grip-lever and having a forwardly prothe same against the fabric overlying the jecting arm and a rearward weight-arm, table.

said feeler-lever being normally held by its 5. In combination, with a bifurcated weight-arm with its said forwardly projectbody having a fabric gripping table at the ing arm elevated and the grip-lever having inner side of one arm thereof, a grip-lever means overlylng said forwardly projecting fulcrumed in the other arm of said body on arm of the feeler-lever and adapted to dea transverse axis parallel with the table and press the same against the fabric overlying movable into and out of gripping relation the table. to the latter, and having a rearwardly pro- 4. In combination, with a bifurcated body jecting arm, and a feeler-lever fulcrumed having a fabric gripping table at the inner relatively back of the grip-lever on an axis side of one arm thereof, a grip-lever fulparallel with the axis of the grip-lever and crumed in the other arm of said body on a having a forwardly projecting arm undertransverse axis parallel with the table and lying the arm of the grip-lever, said feelermovable into and out of gripping relation lever being normally held with its said armwith the latter, and a feeler-lever fnlcrumed' elevated and adapted to be depressed by said relatively back of the grip-lever on an axis arm of the grip-lever on movement of the parallel with the axis of the grip-lever and latter to gripping position.

having a forwardly projecting arm, said In testimony whereof I affix my signature. feeler-lever being normally held with its FLORENT I-IINNEKENS. 

